Jayaluxmi Naidoo

Pedagogic strategies: Using empowerment theory to confront issues of language and race within mathematics education:

Within the classroom milieu a teacher wields considerable power; however, teaching may become overwhelming when the teacher is faced with somewhat diverse learners. Dealing with such in the classroom is a challenging task. This qualitative study aims to explore how teachers confront issues of language and race within mathematics education. It was carried out at one university in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. The participants are mathematics teachers who enrolled as postgraduate mathematics education students at the university. The study was framed using Perkins and Zimmerman’s notion of empowerment theory. Qualitative data were gathered during the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 academic years, from a final sample of 22 postgraduate mathematics education students, and through a questionnaire administered to teachers and semi-structured interview schedules. The corollary findings provide a glimpse of how issues of language and race are confronted within mathematics education in South Africa, and they are important in terms of advancing curriculum and teacher development. Internationally and nationally, the findings have particular resonance and relevance when considering the powerful role that language and race play in mathematics education.

Language matters! Exploring promise’s use of pedagogic strategies in her mathematics classroom

ABSTRACT This article explores how one teacher, Promise, negotiated the challenges created by the language of instruction in her classroom. The article is part of a broader study in which participation was invited from mathematics teachers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Data gathering instruments included a teacher questionnaire, lesson observation schedules, field notes, a teacher interview schedule and a focus group interview schedule for learners. A qualitative analysis at each stage of the study provided data for the subsequent stage. This study was framed using Hill and Ball’s ‘mathematics knowledge for teaching’ framework. The findings suggest that participants incorporated pedagogic strategies in their classrooms to negotiate the challenges arising when learners learned mathematics in a language other than their native language. This article reflects on and describes Promise’s pedagogic strategies. Identifying pedagogic strategies that embrace the language of instruction in mathematics classrooms can be of value to mathematics curriculum developers as well as teachers.

Exploring Some Teaching Strategies that Overcome Challenges Created by the Language of Instruction within Multilingual Mathematics Classrooms

Abstract This paper explores teaching strategies used by mathematics teachers to overcome challenges created by the language of instruction at selected multilingual schools. Participation was requested of forty-five teachers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The final sample comprised of six teachers. This paper encompassed the following methods of data collection: lesson observations, teacher interviews and focus group interviews with selected learners. All the data was analyzed qualitatively within an interpretive paradigm. The theory of teacher knowledge was used as a theoretical lens. The findings suggest that teachers incorporated supportive teaching strategies in their classrooms. Some of these strategies included collaborative learning and the use of mnemonics and manipulatives. It is argued that identifying strategies that could overcome challenges created by the language of instruction within multilingual mathematics classrooms could provide valuable insights for curriculum developers, as well as teachers both nationally and globally.

The Use of Technology Based Tools in Mathematics Teaching at One University in South Africa

Abstract Technology has impacted every aspect of the human lives and as lecturers within Higher Education the researchers need to ensure that they are capable of transforming human practices to suit the requirements and learning styles of the technology savvy students. Moreover, research has shown positive developments in the teaching of mathematics through the use of technology based tools, thus, this qualitative study explored the lecturers’ views on the use of technology in mathematics teaching. This study was located at one university in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa and was framed within the ambits of teacher1 knowledge. Qualitative data was collected during the 2013 and 2014 academic year from 12 mathematics and mathematics education lecturers via a questionnaire and semi-structured interview schedules. Thematic coding and interpretive techniques were used to analyze the data gathered. The findings are important for advancing mathematics curriculum development and may be useful to mathematics lecturers at institutes of Higher Education.